---
product_id: 55084829
title: "Truly Devious: A Mystery Hardcover – January 16, 2018"
brand: "maureen johnson"
price: "€ 26.06"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/55084829-truly-devious-a-mystery-hardcover-january-16-2018
store_origin: NL
region: Netherlands
---

# Truly Devious: A Mystery Hardcover – January 16, 2018

**Brand:** maureen johnson
**Price:** € 26.06
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Truly Devious: A Mystery Hardcover – January 16, 2018 by maureen johnson
- **How much does it cost?** € 26.06 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/55084829-truly-devious-a-mystery-hardcover-january-16-2018)

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- maureen johnson enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Images

![Truly Devious: A Mystery Hardcover – January 16, 2018 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71yU7yRcd2L.jpg)
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Millenial Tween Mystery
  

*by K***R on Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2019*

The end definitely helped bump the score up a bit, but otherwise... I don’t know. I love a good mystery, but this was too tween for me (yes, I know it’s YA. But this was definitely on the “younger” side of that). For a 400+ page book, it certainly seemed like a lot happened, while at the same time nothing at all happened... that is, until the last twenty pages or so. I’m glad the “romance” was put on the back burner. It’s refreshing when there’s more focus on plot, especially in YA mysteries, and less on teen drama.I liked Stevie as a character, but she lost favorable points with me when she withheld evidence for the sake of her own pride and arrogance. Still, she, Nate, and Janelle were the least annoying of all the “students”— most of whom were written like privileged hipsters. Seriously, each and every one of Stevie’s classmates were described like they stepped out of a factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where they mass-produce hip, liberal Generation Z progressives. I get these kids are all supposed to be talented and brilliant artists, but never in my life have I heard of or seen 16/17 year olds dressed or styled like caricatures from different decades (and sometimes all at once on one person). It was super unrealistic... and then I saw the author’s image at the end, and knew exactly why all these teens wore crafty trashbag dresses, severe black bob haircuts with bright red lipstick, silver coiffed hair and overalls, cat eye glasses and oversized dress shirts, etc. etc.I also hated the inclusion of politics here. I won’t go into details, because that could be spoiler territory, but it’s clear there is a bias against Republicans. Why are we out to vilify millions of people?I don't WANT to keep reading, but I NEED to know the mystery...Kudos for keeping me guessing, and actually surprising me, but also— curse you and your cliffhangers!!

### ⭐ 







  
  
    she doesn't solve the mystery
  

*by M***E on Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2020*

When you're a novelist you are entering a kind of contract with your readers...you are making them promises. If you're writing a murder mystery the primary thing you must do by the end of the book is solve the goddam mystery. The answer to the puzzle MUST be given at the end of the book.Maureen Johnson does NOT do that in Truly Devious. In fact, she DOESN'T solve a current day murder, DOESN'T solve a cold case murder from the '30s and DOESN'T even tell us the solution to a riddle.Imagine buying a jigsaw puzzle and opening it up only to find there are only half the pieces you need.She ends the book with the words, "To be continued..." Apparently Miss Johnson thinks she's writing an episode of the 1970's Batman TV series.The protagonist, Stevie Bell is interesting enough to read. (Stevie is a girl) She has another female character named Element...and a boy named Hayes Major...and a Dr. Quinn (as in Medicine Woman).I will NOT read the sequel. Don't care who did it. She didn't keep her promises. She talks about Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie in the novel because her protagonist loves mysteries...those authors ALWAYS SOLVED THE MYSTERY. They didn't leave a cliffhanger. This author should have learned from her betters.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    I can't believe I have to wait a year for the next one!
  

*by S***D on Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2018*

So. I have major beef with Maureen Johnson. I am a huge fan of her, and her writing, and her Shades of London series. I wait in anticipation for each and every new book to come out, and have been waiting year after year for the 4th in the series to be released, except it hasn't been and I don't even know if it ever will. I understand that she's been going through a lot, and of course, priority is herself and her health. My confusion lies in the fact that...well...she left that series unfinished and has now started writing a NEW series! Completely new series! And here's the other thing...it is very similar, in terms of plot and storyline, to the Shades of London series (boarding school, murder, mystery, group of kids trying to get the bad guy and solve a century old mystery?) (except we haven't encountered any ghosts...yet). So what does this mean for Shades of London? Is she done with that? I'd love if anyone who has or knows the answer would share it with me.Now...to get on with this book review. I am a sucker for YA mysteries, and I do love Johnson's writing style, so obviously I immediately purchased this book. The mystery in this one is quite heartbreaking, involving a 3 year old child, which tugs at my heartstrings. This is a very intricately written book, with so many complex things happening and being built simultaneously. Moving between past and present, you are left in awe at how Johnson maneuvered all the events and put them together in a way that isn't too complicated for the readers to grasp, but still leaves you scratching your head.The book starts with a prologue, where a student at Ellingham Academy is murdered. That scene is written so well that it made me think of The Lovely Bones and that suffocating scene where Susie gets brutally murdered. We then find out that the school's founder's wife and 3 year old daughter are also missing.In present day, Stevie Bell enrolls into Ellingham Academy with one goal in mind - to solve the murder mystery that took place back in 1936. Now, I have to admit, I was rolling my eyes at this. A teenager is going to solve a mystery that went unsolved for almost a century. Really? Except, once I got into it and got to know the characters and got to know Stevie better, I didn't even care anymore. I suspended reality and decided to go with the flow, and was completely behind her, supporting her and rooting for her.The book continues to alternate between past and present as the events of the past are slowly revealed and how the crime was never really solved and the child's body was never found, and how Stevie tries to put it all together in present time, while strange things start to happen mirroring the events of the past.In the midst of all that, we get to know Stevie's flat mates, friends, family, her likes and dislikes, her insecurities, her love interest (of course) and all the usual high school drama. David is definitely an intriguing character, and I have to admit, I didn't see that one coming, although I should have probably expected it, but I didn't.This whole book played out like a big set up for what's going to happen in book 2. It introduces you to the murder in the past, then sets you up with a new murder done in the same fashion as the one from the past with a poem by "Truly Devious" him/herself, then leaves you with, not one, but TWO killer cliffhangers so you basically have to bang your head against the wall in frustration as you wait until next year for the second installment.I hope that this is one series Maureen Johnson will see through to the end.

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*Product available on Desertcart Netherlands*
*Store origin: NL*
*Last updated: 2026-01-24*